Academic Common Market (SREB)

THE ACADEMIC COMMON MARKET

If public institutions of higher education in Louisiana do not offer a degree program (undergraduate or graduate) in a desired field of study, it may be possible to arrange a waiver of out-of-state tuition for a student to pursue his/her intended program at a cooperating public institution of higher education in another state. The states which have agreed to this arrangement together are the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) member states – Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia – and have collectively agreed to administer the ACM.

Program Highlights

Approved programs must be designed to culminate in the conferral of a baccalaureate, masters, specialist, or doctoral degree, and the institution must be able to classify the participant as degree-seeking. All other degrees or awards are not eligible for inclusion in the ACM. Additionally, some institutions and states may impose additional acceptance requirements such as full-time enrollment status.

It is noted that degree program titles do not necessarily define program content. As a guideline, at least one-half of the courses in the major should consist of courses not available in similar programs in state. Concentrations, options, tracks, or specializations must be extraordinary, specific, and structured to merit eligibility for the ACM. They must materially change the nature of the degree such that it is markedly different from degree programs that exist in-state.

If your program of study does not appear on the above listing, the ACM State Coordinator will need to make a determination as to whether or not it (or a comparable offering) is offered in-state. If it is determined that similar or comparable offerings exist in-state, then the individual initiating the request will be directed to the respective program(s). In these cases, the state will not be able to request ACM access to the out-of-state program. For curricular requests, please contact:

If the individual initiating the request feels that the programs in question (both in-state and out-of-state) are significantly different, then a reconsideration request of the decision should be submitted to the State Coordinator. The request need not be lengthy, but should address curricular content issues and outline why the individual feels that the programs are markedly different. This request will then be forwarded to the objecting in-state institutions for their review.

Should in-state offerings not exist or be determined to be significantly different from the out-of-state offering in question, then the State Coordinator will initiate the process of requesting ACM access to the out-of-state program.

Several factors are explicitly excluded from consideration in determining the eligibility of programs for the ACM. They are as follows: 1) specific programmatic accreditation or state licensure requirements; 2) the difficulty of access to in-state programs; 3) the unavailability of a similar in-state degree program with unique student services, student amenities, or other non-academic features; and 4) the geographic location of programs within states.

As the coordinating agency for the State of Louisiana’s participation in the ACM, the Board of Regents reserves the right, at its discretion and at any time, to remove academic programs offered by Louisiana institutions from the ACM (offered to residents of other SREB member states) and/or to remove ACM access to academic programs at out-of-state institutions offered to Louisiana residents.

Upon unconditional acceptance into the out-of-state program, the individual can then complete and return the ACM application (found below) to the Board of Regents’ office.

Texas, Florida, and North Carolina limit ACM access and participation to the graduate level only.

The following institutions limit ACM access to programs that are currently in the ACM inventory (no new requests for program additions will be accepted at this time): the University of Alabama, the University of Delaware, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of Oklahoma.

Auburn University (AL) limits ACM access to undergraduate programs.

Clemson University (SC), the College of William and Mary (VA), Georgia Institute of Technology (beginning Summer 2011) and Georgia State University limit ACM access to graduate programs.

Students at the following institutions must be determined ACM-eligible prior to state certification being issued: Auburn University (AL); the University of Alabama; the University of Georgia; and Middle Tennessee State University. Contact the institution for further details.

The following institutions do not participate in the ACM: the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore, The Citadel (SC), the College of Charleston (SC), Francis Marion University (SC), the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, the University of Texas at Austin, James Madison University (VA), the University of Mary Washington (VA); the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The States of North Carolina and Texas do not provide ACM access to online graduate programs.